On this day in Jamaican History: Singer, songwriter, rapper, & record producer Sean Kingston was born

On February 3, 1990, Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer Sean Kingston was born. Originally named Kisean Anderson, he was born in Miami, Florida, the first of three children of Janice Turner. The family moved to Kingston, Jamaica when he was six years old. The future artist attended Ocho Rios High School for three years and then migrated back to the United States. His grandfather was Lawrence Lindo, noted Jamaican reggae producer whose stage name was Jack Ruby, Sean Kingston took his stage name from the capital city of Jamaica.

Tommy Rotem at Beluga Heights discovered Kingston on MySpace in 2007, signing him to his label in a partnership with Sony, According to Rotem, Kingston was a rapper when he was discovered, and a development process was initiated to make him more melodic. Beluga worked to refine his talent into a more marketable product. In a deal between Epic Records and Koch Records, Kingston recorded and released his single “Beautiful Girls” in 2007, which peaked at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 list and became an international success. His success led to Kingston opening for Gwen Stefani’s The Sweet Escape Tour and for select dates on Beyoncé’s The Beyoncé Experience Tour. In 2008, he opened for the Australian portion of Kelly Clarkson’s My December Tour.

Kingston’s first album Tomorrow was released in 2009. Its producers included Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, RedOne who was associated with Lady Gaga, and his original mentor, J. R. Rotem. Two songs from the album, “Fire Burning” and “Face Drop,” were released as singles. In 2010, he released the album Back 2 Life, which featured top artists including T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Flo Ride, Soulja Boy, Wyclef Jean, Cher Lloyd, Akon, and Dr. Dre. Also in 2010, Kingston represented North and South America in singing the official theme song of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games. Additionally, he joined with four other artists to represent Africa.

In 2013, Kingston began planning his fourth studio album, which ultimately involved the release of several singles between 2013 and 2016 and featured Zendaya., He joined Chance the Rapper, Debra Wilson, Erykah Badu, Mel B, Rochelle Jordan, David Alan Grier and Christopher Kid” Reid, in the Bob Marley episode of Black Dynamite on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. In 2015, he released the single “Wait Up,” which was the lead single on the fourth studio album.

He released music videos were released for “One Away” and “All I Got” and in 2017 he announced the release of the “Made in Jamaica” mixtape, which was preceded by the single “Chance” that featured Vybz Kartel..Hn 2018 he participated with the Italian singer Giusy Ferreri on the vocals of the single “Amore e capoeira”, by Italian record producers Takagi & Ketra.

A public service announcement in which Kingston joined with Do Something encouraged teenagers to become involved with their communities by creating Do Something clubs. Previously, Kingston had shown his activism by appearing with one of his dogs for the PETA organization. Among his many awards, Kingston has received nominations for Image Awards, Best Reggae Ever Act MOBO Award, Best Reggae Video at the and Choice R&B Track at the Teen Choice Awards,

Kingston nearly died in a jet skiing accident in 2011 off the coast of Miami.